Introduction
The conflict theory suggests that ideology and bias in media is correlated to the effects of ideology on society. This means that the influence of ideas on people’s perception of the society reflects on their actions and representation of gender. Examining examples from the Dove commercial and parody will explore the subject of media de-gendering, ideology, hegemony, representation, and the semiotic triangle. Furthermore, the discussion will also demonstrate how images constituted by the media creates the description of semiotic triangle and how represents the culture industry. Lastly, an image in social media will be examined trough the lenses of cultural studies will demonstrate the concept of de-gendering.
Question 2
Both above images are examples of ideology, discourse, hegemony, and representation, which demonstrate the understanding of making, marking, and maintaining social equity. Both images depicts an advertisement for Dove, which is a brand of beauty soap while the image with a female model represents the actual commercial, the other image with a man is a parody of the former.
As mentioned earlier, ideology is defined as an idea that has a profound influence on people’s perception and action towards the society (Montgomery and Allan). In relation to the given example, the advertisement image and the parody can be examined on ideological basis such as implied behavioral normalcy and problem reduction (Nawaz et al.). In terms of normalcy, the advertisement implies that if women do not use the product, they can be considered as aberrant does not measure to the standard of beauty that can be achieved by using the product. This idea is contradicted by the image of the parody, which depicts the reality of beauty from a man’s perspective. In terms of problem reduction, the image implies the problem of facial aesthetics that is regarded as unacceptable, hence becoming a social problem, which the beauty soap tends to represent by the media as a solution.
On the other hand, the images also depict hegemony and representation, which can be defined as leadership of dominance of a social group over the others. From the media perspective, hegemony can be assumed that the idea of the ruling class should be adopted by the larger society (Hainsworth). In this sense, the images depicts hegemony in terms of suggesting that the resulting beauty from using the product is an ideal image of beauty that should be the basis of the society’s perception of acceptable physical aesthetics. Therefore, the images represents the marking of social inequity where the people that belongs in the ruling class based on physical aesthetics influence the social perspectives of the non-ruling class, and for the latter to imitate the same standards of the ruling class. The semiotic triangle also recalls the aspects of sign, signifier, and signified, which when looking at the example demonstrate that the sign is aesthetical transformation, while the signifier is the difference between the before and after images including the image of the man and the woman that signified the sense of contradiction in demonstrating the perceptions of beauty.
Question 3
The above image is one of the commercial posters released for the movie “how to lose a guy in 10 days”. It a good example in discussing the concept of semiotic triangle, which is defined as an implied meaning that refers an expression or symbol relative to different language users (Hjorland). When talking about the semiotic triangle, it addresses somebody that creates the mind of a person of equivalent sign. This means that the implied meaning stands for something, not in all respect, but in reference to an idea often referred to as the ground of the representamen (Hjorland). Furthermore, the concept of semiotic triangle shows three sides of thought or reference. The first side is about the symbol, which is the causation of relation while the second side of reference is about referent or the other causal relations. Lastly, the third side of thought stands for imputed relation.
Apart from the semiotic triangle, the image also describes the concept of culture industry, which Adorno and Horkheimer (1991) described as a representation of sub-consumption of the prior related autonomous realm of culture into the market constituted by logic. The term culture industry emerged as a result of commodification of arts and other cultural forms, which plays a fundamental role in transforming culture into a medium of ideological domination. In relation to the image presented above, it can be seen as part of the culture industry in terms of commodification of cultural ideology. In the image, an idea was implied that a woman being a dominant gender could engage into actions that could cast a man out of the relationship as opposed to the common conception of a man being a more dominant gender in a relationship. This idea has been depicted in the movie and was commoditized by the mainstream media as an ideal demonstration of popular culture.
Question 4
In the above example of an image that reads, “because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters can take it for granted that a woman can be president”. Given that statement, the above example demonstrates the context domination in which the comment suggests the contradiction to the idea that a woman is to become a president. In older times, masculinity plays a dominant role in both political and social environment and women are seen as limited to their domestic functions. In the above image, it implies the idea that a woman can be president. However, that same idea suggests the de-gendering of the politics, which is often regarded as a realm specific to one gender. The image is de-gendering in the sense that the barrier between a man and a woman was overcome by the idea that the less dominant gender in politics is likely to assume the most powerful government position in the United States.
In addition, the comments in the exampled image demonstrates an opposition to the described idea where the new generation of women are likely to place lesser value to presidency given that a woman is likely to achieve such position. Although the comment and the other elements in the image are in contrast, both elements demonstrate a common ground in terms of describing the context of de-gendering. While the idea of a woman president is de-gendering in terms of breaking the political norms that only men are capable of being a president, the comment in opposition to such idea is also de-gendering. This is because the comment about Hillary Clinton reiterates the old notion that women are less capable of any political function that is why it expressed a sentiment that if Clinton wins, anybody can now become a president regardless.
Conclusion
De-gendering media, ideology, discourse, hegemony, representation, and semiotic triangle encompass the concept in communication that pertains to how information changes the society through media. Historically, the media have an important role in shaping social perceptions and gender identity. The changes in this perception enabled the de-gendering of ideology and discourse. The way gender has been represented in the media has changed and the discourse about gender has also evolved into a more diverse conception of hegemony. Most importantly, media and ideology is in constant interaction that fundamentally affects the society.
References
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Montgomery, Martin and Stuart Allan. "Ideology, Discourse, And Cultural Studies: The Contribution Of Michel Pêcheux". Canadian Journal of Communication 17.2 (1992): n. pag. Web. 10 Aug. 2016.
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